Thai monks bless culled poultry, then dine on chicken

The Thai Government has held a Buddhist ceremony to bless the spirits of more than 26 million chickens that have been slaughtered in recent months to halt the spread of bird flu.

The mass slaughter violates Buddhist principles, and the ceremony was aimed at easing public guilt over killing the birds, Government spokesman Prompol Sod-Eiam said yesterday.

"We feel guilty because we are Buddhist," he said. "[The ceremony] can make us feel relaxed and apologise to the souls of the dead chickens."

About 108 Buddhist monks swathed in yellow robes chanted blessings for the birds in a ceremony at the Agriculture Ministry in Bangkok before senior officials offered them a meal of fried chicken and chicken curry. The rite is usually performed for deceased people.

"We make merit for the spirit of chickens that have been culled to stop the spread of bird flu and the prosperity of the nation," Deputy Agriculture Minister Newin Chidchob told reporters.

He said the worst of the bird flu outbreak was over and that cabinet was yesterday expected to approve a new plan to compensate poultry farmers for their dead chickens.

The ceremony follows a Government-backed chicken feast in Bangkok on Saturday to encourage people to eat chicken and help the ailing poultry industry.

Thailand was the world's fourth largest chicken exporter last year, selling 500,000 tonnes worth 52 billion baht ($1.7 billion)). But its largest export markets - Japan and the European Union - have banned Thai chicken products over bird flu fears.

Officials are considering the resale of about 20,000 tonnes of frozen chicken returned from the EU and Japan on the local market "because the chicken that was shipped out for foreign countries are of a high standard and healthy", Agriculture Minister Somsak Thepsutin said.

Thai chicken importers have returned 3 billion baht worth of chicken products since the beginning of January, Commerce Minister Watana Muangsook said on Monday.

Avian influenza has killed five people in Thailand and 14 in Vietnam. Governments have slaughtered more than 50 million chickens and banned poultry imports to try to contain the livestock epidemic.

The World Health Organisation's Thailand representative, Bjorn Melgaard, warned yesterday that the economic and agricultural toll of the outbreak could overshadow the more serious threat to humans.

"We are concerned that the risk to human health is receiving less attention than what is warranted, given the potential that this epidemic has to cause major global health problems," he told The Associated Press.

Dr Melgaard said some Thai workers shown in television news reports lacked the protective suits, goggles and boots needed safely to dispose of chickens that might be infected with the virus and urged authorities to equip them.

Ten Asian countries - Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Pakistan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam - are battling the disease and officials in the United States confirmed an outbreak of a milder form in the state of Delaware last week.